Optical Illusions
by starsinjars
Summary: Conan had his reasons for not wanting to go to a magic show on his birthday, but Kaito was sure he could convince him otherwise. And even if he was immune to the wonderment of magic, Kaito was sure he can captivate the pessimistic child with his skills.


Title: Optical Illusions  
Summary: Conan had his reasons for not wanting to go to a magic show on his birthday, but Kaito was sure he could convince him otherwise. And even if Conan was immune to the wonderment of magic, Kaito was sure he could captivate the pessimistic child with his skills.

* * *

****Having a logical mind and loss or lack of innocence is like a two-edged sword. It makes you smarter and more knowing of the world, but it also is something that can never be taken or given back, something that is always with you no matter what.

Of course, it was understandable that Conan never had innocence in the first place, considering the fact that "Conan" never really truly existed. But even as a child, Shinichi was never interested in magicians or magic in general.

To be clear and concise, it just wasn't possible. All it took was a sleight of hand, quick reflexes, a complete understanding of one's surroundings and anyone can perform magic.

But his parents wanted him to experience the "magic" of it all, so he was forced to attend hundreds of shows, even attending a few in Las Vegas. But each and every time, with his observant eyes he could find the trick hidden behind the act. In fact, he knew them so well that if he had a mind to he was pretty sure he could probably pull it off himself.

So that was the reason why he was unwilling to attend a magic show. But he couldn't tell the Shounen Tantei that. Especially Ayumi.

"But Conan-kun, you have to come! It wouldn't be the same without you!" Ayumi pouted at him. Conan tried to tune her out as he continued down the path on the sidewalk with the rest of the children his current age.

"I'd really rather not," Conan spoke as he looked away, giving Haibara a look which was replied with a sly smile accompanied with silence.

"But Conan-kun," Mitsuhiko joined, "if Ayumi-chan is asking, you have to go!" He looked up to Ayumi to find her beaming at him, causing him to look back at Conan.

At this, the true leader of the group rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the invitation, but -"

Before he knew it, Conan found himself being lifted into the air, and he could hear the cut snort coming from Haibara as Genta pulled him close to his face enough to fog his non-prescription glasses. "Just come! It'll be fun! Besides, it's like that English phrase, 'Common curtsy'!"

"Genta, I think you mean 'Common courtesy'," Mitsuhiko and Ayumi corrected.

"Ah... alright," Conan sighed in defeat as he found his Friday afternoon scheduled for a magic show by an amateur magician.

* * *

****Conan could think of many other ways to spend his Friday afternoon. Perhaps he would be tagging along with Ran on her shopping day with Sonako. Perhaps he would have been solving a murder case. Perhaps he could be one step closer to finding the Black Organization and getting his true body back.

But no, there he was, standing alongside the rest of the Shounen Tantei minus Haibara because of reasons in front of the park.

'Reasons' she said.

Conan sighed and refrained from rolling his eyes as he regained his focus back to the rest of the gang.

"Ooh, I hope that there will be a show today. Sometimes he comes and sometimes he doesn't," Ayumi bubbled, looking around for a magician anywhere within the park grounds. She turned to Conan. "What time is it?"

"Uh," He took a peek at his watch, "it's gonna turn to twelve in..." He held out three fingers. As he counted down, he lowered a finger. "Three… two... one."

There was an puff of white smoke that covered the area. Conan was bored as the rest of the Shounen Tantei awed in wonderment. As it cleared, a teen in a standard black school uniform appeared out of nowhere. He placed a fedora hat on the floor before giving a bow as the rest of the group minus Conan clapped at his arrival plus a few other bystanders. The shrunken teen rolled his eyes as the magician stared at him, so he gave a short clap before dropping his hands.

The magician regained his focus before breaking into a wide grin, and summoned a bouquet of white roses and handed it to Conan.

"For you," he said as Conan was forced to take them with a very faint blush on his cheeks.

"… Thanks..." he replied, slightly confused as to why he would be given roses.

"The pleasure's all mine." The teen tipped his head before turning to the girl in the group. He took Ayumi's hand and placed it to his face, kissing it chastely. He smiled at her. "It's nice to see you again, oujo-chan."

"Ah, Kuroba-nii-san!" Ayumi bubbled some more. "Mite, mite! I brought my friends like promised!" She smiled brightly at the teen, who laughed in reply as he handed her a pink rose.

"Please accept this as a token of my appreciation, oujo-chan." Ayumi blushed as she took the rose, mumbling her thanks. Genta and Mitsuhiko quickly stepped forward, aiming for the magician's attention.

"Hello!"

"We're friends with Ayumi-chan!"

Conan observed their interaction closely, the teen seemed quite familiar.

"Alright, alright, here," He gave them yellow roses before getting back up to his position to face the rest of the audience that appeared to watch his performance. "Yosh, greetings everyone! I'm Kuroba Kaito, amateur magician extraordinaire. You all ready for a quick show?"

Applause really brought Conan to attention to just how many people were actually watching, a large crowd having formed at this point. He turned, surprised at how many people actually liked this type of stuff.

"For my first trick, all it takes is..." he kneeled back to the group of kids, and held out his hand, specifically to Conan. He pointed to the bouquet of white roses. "Gomen, but could I possibly borrow this?"

Conan shrugged, handing it over. "You gave it to me, you can take it back if you really need it."

Kaito smiled graciously as he took it, picking out a rose to give back and took the rest of the bouquet. He showed it to the audience. "A bouquet of flowers, specifically white roses." He tossed it into the air and blew gently. The petals felt the breath and started to scatter and shifted into feathers as several doves flew from the leaves and thorns.

"Saa..." Kaito turned to Conan, trailing off as he waited for an official introduction.

"Conan!" Ayumi supplied. "Edogawa Conan, Kuroba-nii-san!"

Kaito smiled at her. "Arigato, oujo-chan." He held out his hand. "Conan-kun?"

Conan blinked. "Nani?" He found a baby white dove in the palm of his hand. He stared at it, unimpressed as everyone else was in awe.

Boring, boring, magic was boring. While everyone focused on Kaito stepping on the flowers, he simply placed the dove in Conan's hand. Magicians relished in distractions.

Kaitou Kid was a great example of this.

Everyone clapped. "Sugoi!" The Shouen Tantei exclaimed, impressed as everyone else. Conan smiled dryly, laughing as well.

Kaito frowned, but Conan's expression was partly expected. He could have taken the childish route and be impressed with everyone else, or he could take the mature route and see through it all. It was obvious which route he took.

Ayumi noticed this. "Conan-kun, are you not having fun?"

He turned to her. He always forgot just how observant she was. "I'm having fun!" he exclaimed, but he knew it sounded fake. "Lots of fun! I'm glad I came!"

Ayumi frowned slightly, but nevertheless just act accepted her friend's answer.

Kaito could use this to his advantage. "For my next and final trick, I need a volunteer from the audience, please."

Many hands and various noises were made, but Kaito had already known who he wanted before he even asked. "Conan-kun, if you would be so kind?"

He blinked. "Eh?" But being thrust into the spotlight, he had no choice but to get up there. It didn't help that the Shounen Tantei practically shoved him towards the teen. He turned to them. "Alright, alright! Sheesh." He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked towards Kaito, who smirked.

Conan was actually grateful, he wanted to check out this magician in a closer proximity, and this was the opportunity to do so.

Kaito didn't like the glint in Conan's eye, he recognized it to be internal scheming on the chibi detective's part. He can't very well say he would enjoy it, whatever he's planning.

Regardless, it wouldn't stop him with his plan. "Conan-kun, if you would be so kind as to," he magicked a black cloak, "put this on?" He smiled. "The faster you do this, the sooner you can leave."

Those words were music to Conan's ears. He grabbed the cloak and covered himself, placing on the hood and found his vision completely impared. It was as if he was wearing a black blindfold.

"For the next step…" Kaito smirked, Tantei-kun was completely vulnerable. But he'll get back to that later. He reached out for Mitsuhiko. "And your name is?"

"Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko," Mitsuhiko introduced himself politely, a little nervous to get up there but stood next to Conan. Kaito directed for him to be about three and a half inches apart from one another.

"You two don't like magic very much, do you?" Kaito started, placing a blindfold over Mitsuhiko's eyes.

Both shook their heads simultaneously, Conan giving a little shrug as Mitsuhiko said, "It just isn't logical."

Kaito smirked. "Let me prove you, and any non-believers out there, that magic truly does exist."

Conan snorted quietly at that, and Kaito caught it. He smirked as he turned to the audience. "Thanks to these two, I'm about to show you my final trick for today."

Everyone watched in silence as they wondered what Kaito would do. Kaito relished in the attention for a few moments before he refocused his attention to the two children in front of him.

"Sorry, Conan-kun, but you'll have to wait." He placed over-ear headphones in order to make sure he didn't hear anything before turning to his other assistant. For reassurance purposes, he decided to tie Conan's hands together as well. Maybe he'll take the watch later. Can never be too careful when dealing with Tantei-kun. "Mitsuhiko-kun, ready for some magic?" Kaito asked, and with a nod from the elementary student snapped his fingers.

When everyone started to awe in shock and amazement at the magic that the volunteers were involved in but had no idea what it was, Kaito tugged on the blindfold, undoing it.

Mitsuhiko blinked to readjust to the light for a few moments before he realized that he was actually floating a few feet from the floor. His eyes widened as he tried to get his feet back on the ground, confused but amazed. "This is impossible!"

Kaito winked as Mitsuhiko began to make his slow descent back onto the earth, Conan still waiting patiently just a short distance from them. "Magic, Mitsuhiko-kun! You have to keep an open mind! Anything is possible!" He looked over to his other assistant and whispered, "Tell Ayumi-chan that I'll have to borrow him for a little while longer, but I know what you three had in mind. I'll make sure he believes in magic."

Mitsuhiko blinked, confused. "Eh?"

"Until next time!" Kaito threw a flash grenade onto the floor, and quickly snatched Conan before making his get away.

It lasted for a few moments before anyone was able to see again, and after the light faded, everyone fell into applause as Kaito was gone.

"Mitsuhiko-kun!" Ayumi and Genta ran up to him, happy faces with a twinge of jealousy that he was picked. "How did you do that? Can you teach us?"

Mitsuhiko could only shake his head. "No matter how improbable it is, it was truly by magic."

Ayumi looked around. "Where's Conan-kun?"

Mitsuhiko realized that was what Kaito meant. "He knew. He said he wanted 'to borrow him for a little while longer' and that he knew what we were doing. He said he'll make sure that Conan-kun will believe in magic."

Ayumi pouted, but realized there was nothing she could do. After all, this was her plan. That had hopefully not failed just yet, but was out of their control. "I hope Conan-kun's not mad."

* * *

****Conan sighed, really bored now. What in the hell were they doing? Stupid restrictions. Still, he didn't feel as if he was in danger, so he let it be. He felt the headphones be removed, allowing for him to hear again. Odd, it sounded as if they weren't in the park. He smelled the air. Yes, this wasn't the park. Were they in a bakery? He could hear lots of mindless chatter from around him, but he couldn't hear Ayumi, Genta, or Mitsuhiko.

"Conan-kun? Conan-kun!"

He blinked, not that he could see but mostly out of habit. He felt the fabric binding his hands be undone and reached out to the voice. "Ran-nee-chan?"

He touched air. "Conan-kun, why don't you like magic?"

Scrambling to find his innocence act quickly, Conan gushed, "W-what do you mean, Ran-nee-chan? Magic is magical!"

"Conan-kun?"

He smiled, wondering faintly if she could even see it. "I do like magic, Ran-nee-chan. That's why I like Kaitou Kid! Did you know, one of his nicknames is the 'Moonlit Magician'? Magic!"

Ran's voice suddenly lowered. "You lie too much, Tantei-kun."

Suddenly the lights turned back on, and Conan found himself in Starlight Sweets Bakery. As expected really, he could tell from the smell of coffee. In front of him was one amateur magician Kuroba Kaito.

He narrowed his eyes at the teen, beaming from across a table. "Kaitou… Kid?"

Kaito poofed a slice of cake in front of the detective and one for himself. He stabbed into a strawberry, gave it a taste before just staring at it. "Why don't you believe in magic, Tantei-kun?" He asked, still fixated on the red fruit. "Why do you have to find a logical reason for everything?"

Strawberry shortcake… On today of all days?

How did he know?

Conan sighed, but picked up a fork to try a piece of cake. "Why does it concern you so?" He began to play with it.

"Because you're a child. They're still supposed to be innocent and care-free but… you're not." Kaito sighed, dropping the fruit on his plate. "You're not. Why is that?"

"You know," Conan stabbed into the cake, but didn't take a bite. He stared at it, not looking to his company. "My parents were the same. They wanted for me to enjoy the magic of magic shows, but it's all just smokes and mirrors. Like the methods that murders take, there's always a truth to be found."

Kaito watched him butcher his cake before he found his voice to reply, "As much as I admire your abilities, Tantei-kun, I have to be honest and tell you I can't help but feel sorry for you," Kaito confessed, pity in his eyes, but Conan didn't want to face it. "You're missing out on something important, something that everyone should have, that everyone should and only could experience when they're your age."

Conan gave a dry laugh. "This person you're talking to, this 'Edogawa Conan', he never had any of this innocence you claim that he should have in the first place." He stabbed into the strawberry.

"Why did you take me here? Why did you reveal yourself to me?" The detective was curious.

"I was surprised. I honestly didn't believe that I would have found you at the park today," Kaito started, making a glass of banana milkshake appear in the middle of the table. He slid it over to Conan, who didn't take it.

Conan continued to stab the cake. "Don't lie to me, you knew that Ayumi-chan was going to take me to your magic show for my birthday. And while I appreciate the thought, it's really annoying to stand there and watch someone trick the audience with obvious methods. I expected better from you."

Kaito sighed. "All you need to do is have a little fun, Tantei-kun. Act your age as a young child and not so stiffy all the time."

Conan kept his gaze to the cake. "At this age, I don't know if what we define as 'fun' to be similar things." He finally took a fork and scooped up some of the massacred baked product. "But this tastes much better than coffee."

Kaito decided to take a jab at it. "You know drinking coffee will stunt your growth, right? And you're already short enough as it is." He stuck out his tongue and avoided the projectile of cake that Conan flung at him. He caught it with his own fork and ate it. "By the way, as a master of disguise, it's easy to take on the persona of the number one suspect being Kaitou Kid. I feel bad for this kid, with the constant accusations. But Kuroba Kaito, I think that he could really help you loosen up a bit. You two should get together sometime, instead of tagging along on murder cases with Mouri-Tantei."

Conan smirked. "Sure, sure. I'll be sure to meet up with him in the near future." He slid out of his chair, picking up his backpack on the back of it. "Thanks for the cake, I appreciate it."

Kaito nodded as he got up, escorting the child out of the bakery. "It's pretty late, have you regain your belief in magic yet?"

"Actually, there was this one magician that I couldn't see through," Conan confessed as they walked home, "He was friends with my father, and I've only seen one of his shows before his tragic death. I've hadn't been able to discover the secret he used to make me appear on stage while I was observing. I checked everything out, but I really couldn't figure it out."

Kaito tilted his head to the child, wondering who he was talking about. "Who?"

"Kuroba Toichi."

Kaito actually froze, but Conan continued to walk, although much slower than his usual pacing. "His son disappointed me slightly, but I'm sure that he could do better. After all, how did you make the annual birthday strawberry shortcake exactly how my mother makes it?" Conan paused, and turned back to his companion.

"That could only be magic."

Kaito winked. "Only the best for you, Tantei-kun."

Conan gave a small smile. "I suppose I should thank you then, Kuroba Kaito."

Kaito tipped his head as if he had a hat as he handed Conan back his bouquet of white roses. "Happy birthday, Tantei-kun."

Conan accepted them once again, but his blush was still on his cheeks. "Thank you, Kuroba Kaito." He looked up to the sky. "I suppose I should get going, Ran-nee-chan wanted to celebrate. I'll come to the park at the same time next week, with or without my friends."

That would be fun. "Until next time then." Kaito winked and was gone. Conan blinked and looked around. He smirked, not having time to actually scan the area to find his method as he clutched the roses and dashed off to his residence.

* * *

A/N: Happy birthday, Shinichi/Conan!


End file.
